Save the Date
by gonnahaveagreatday
Summary: Damon and Elena's wedding a week after she woke up. It's not a traditional wedding, but it's still romantic.


So half of this is a dream that I had, which is why there's red umbrellas that they're holding, half of this is me adding to it. I know that as soon as Elena's awake, they're pretty much gonna start the rest of their lives together, but I didn't ever imagine how that was going to start. Enjoy!

* * *

Damon stood in the preacher's pit, looking at Elena and scanning over the scarce crowd. Elena stood at the back, between the pews. She was smiling at him in a dark jacket. Long enough, that he couldn't see her wedding dress.

They were getting married, today. Right now. And he's never been more sure of anything in his life. The most beautiful woman in the world was finally awake, and he got to marry her. He didn't care how much the world had changed in the last fifty years. Yes, one of his best friends died just a week ago. But every single person in that church was smiling at him, genuine smiles. They knew what the two were going to do in just a moment. That had to be a good omen.

Elena stood in the back still, waiting for Damon, who for the first time in his life, was tripping over his words because of how nervously excited he was. Stefan and Caroline wouldn't be here today; they were still grieving Bonnie. And that was okay. She didn't want this wedding to be a big deal for anyone but her and Damon. But Damon had brought the human helpers Caroline had compelled a few weeks ago for them. They would be their servants for as long as Caroline saw fit, because only she and Stefan could compel people now. Now that she and Damon were both human, it kinda felt weird to refer to them as human. Damon looked at her again and she smiled at him. He smiled back at her and pulled a note out of his jacket pocket.

"Uh, Marius? Could we get Marius up here?" Damon asked, leaning closer to the pit to see the chicken-scratch writing. That was the trigger, apparently, as ten people came through he doors at Elena's end, and fifteen people out of Damon's side. The man leading, Damon assumed, was Marius. The people sitting in the pews hadn't known what was going to happen, so they looked around widely at the twenty-five people marching around. Three people worked on the black curtains hanging on either side of the pews, so that they fell halfway down. A red curtain fell right before Elena as five women gathered around her, and she took off the bigger coat. Elena gripped her red lace umbrella, and tapped the end of it against her bare shoulder. The main helper whose name Caroline said was Marie, stood in front with round glasses and cute chubby cheeks. Elena saw Damon again as he prepared to leave the pit and go to the aisle to meet her. Three guys lined up on either side behind him and Damon saw her as well, a light grey coat that covered her dress from the chest down. Marie stood in front of her.

"Lose the jacket" She decided, as if Elena were about to go down a runway. But then, Caroline had compelled her. It was like she were there in spirit, which was probably her intention. Elena smiled confidently at the nervous Damon and he stared at her, needing her smile right then. He disappeared from the pit.

Elena couldn't see Damon anymore but knew where he'd be headed.

Damon walked through the aisle made of lined-up men. Someone handed him something which he immediately grabbed without thinking. It wasn't ticking, and it didn't crinkle in-between his fingers, so he and Elena were still safe.

Elena's light gray coat had disappeared as soon as she took it off into someone's hands and she stood waiting for Damon to appear, holding her hands in front of her, happier than she'd ever been. It was her and Damon, no one else. Nothing else mattered.

Damon stood near where he was supposed to, still inside the circle of compelled helpers. Then he saw her. Elena stood a few yards away, smiling at him, her hands held together, in a white dress with straps. He looked down at what he was given. A red umbrella. He looked back at Elena. It was like she was frozen, smiling at him with love in her eyes. He wanted to live this moment, for as long as humanly possible. The only thing that would be better would be if she was just a little closer. Like right in front of him, touching him, so he could see himself reflected in her eyes. He'd get that opportunity. One of his new human friends scoffed behind him and took the umbrella he had resting on his shoulder out of his hand. Damon looked behind him at this friend who was putting the umbrella to the side. Then he followed his friend through the line the helpers were making, to the priest that stood waiting for him. Well, priest in a sense of someone Klaus had compelled to do the ceremony for them. Ever since Elena's condition had been made known to him, he had been helping Caroline with things. The priest turned around and smiled. Damon just smiled back, not caring about the significance of his presence.

Damon stood beside the compelled priest, watching Elena. She walked down the aisle, slowly. All of the helpers had disappeared again, the only person next to them was the priest. The people that had been sitting in the pews were moved closer together at the front.

They faced each other, and took hands. Elena's eyes shone as they stared into his, Damon's watched hers, capturing ever moment. The priest stood by their side, holding his hands. Elena was sure that if one or both of them had been religious, Klaus would've compelled him to read from whatever book the religion was, no matter if he was that religion as well.

"Dearly beloved, we're here today to marry two new humans, Damon Salvatore and Elena Gilbert." The priest began. Elena looked around to see if anyone caught 'news humans', as it was kind of a low-profile thing. She rolled her eyes as the priest went on. "Damon Salvatore, you may begin."

"Oh can I?" Damon asked sarcastically, warranting a smile from Elena. The priest looked at him.

"Mr. Niklaus gave me permission to hit you if you used sarcasm." The priest replied.

"Of course he did." Damon said. It was Klaus trying to please Caroline. Elena had to stop the priest from full-out hitting him in front of everyone. The priest turned to Elena.

"Please, just go on." She told him. The priest nodded and turned forward again. Damon pulled a note out of his jacket and looked at Elena with a mischievous smile. She smiled in return, wondering what was on that paper.

"Elena Gilbert, I...I didn't think I would ever find someone like you. I was waiting for the wrong woman to come along for close to two hundred years. Then you showed up in my life. Or rather my brother's life. And it didn't take too long for me to fall for you." He said. Elena smiled again. Damon looked back at his paper. "And when I did, I still didn't think I would get my happily ever after with you." Damon switched his stance. "Man, all the stuff we've been through. Everything that could've torn us apart forever, and, it only made us stronger." He looked up at her, Elena's eyes shining. "And I feel honored, that I got to go through all of that crap with you." Elena smiled again and reached out to touch his face. His eyes shone as he stared into hers. "I love you, Elena Gilbert. And it is an honor to become your husband, it is an honor to become the father of your kids. And all the crap that we're gonna go through after this, I only wanna go through it with you." Elena stroked his cheek with her thumb and giggled slightly, Damon smirking in response. Elena dropped her hand and Damon put the note back in his jacket quickly.

Elena took her note out and opened it, glancing up at him with a smile. He smiled back with an eyebrow raised.

"Damon, I love you. And, even when we first met, I didn't think I could love you, as much as I do now. I knew I loved you when you gave me hope with Stefan. But, I didn't want to admit it. Because I didn't think how I felt was right." Damon nodded, watching her still. "But you taught me that it was alright to feel what I did. You taught me to be all of me. All the good, and all of the bad. And I want to thank you for that." Elena folded the note and stared right at him. "What we're about to do, is unlike any adventure I've been on. But it's definitely one that I've wanted for as long as I can remember. You've given me that. You gave me passion, and a love that consumed me. And the fact that I got it back, just makes anything that happens later worth going through. Because I love you." Elena said with a laugh. Damon smirked. He almost moved to kiss her, but he would be risking getting pummeled by Klaus's little servant boy. The priest cleared his throat and nodded to them.

"Damon Salvatore, do you take Elena to be your lawful wedded wife?" The priest asked. Damon smirked at him and looked at Elena with a raised eyebrow.

"I do." He replied. Elena caught her breath at his tone and quickly smiled then turned to the priest.

"Elena Gilbert, do you take Damon to be your husband?" The priest asked her.

"I do." Elena said to Damon, feeling as if she were about to cry. Damon watched her and she nodded that she was alright. The priest took out their rings, and they quickly took them, trying to be ceremonious about putting them on but going too fast. Elena looked at her finger, a gold band glinting in the sunlight. Next to her daylight ring that she didn't need anymore but wanted as a memorial to what she was before. Damon had a gold band as well, his daylight ring on his other hand now. The priest let them have a minute to glance from eachother to the rings.

"Now," The priest began, Damon and Elena stood to attention again, taking each other's hands. Their rings grazed each other and each of them savored the feeling. "as an ordained priest, I pronounce you both husband, and wife." The priest said. He didn't have to give them permission to kiss, before they both reached for each other and kissed for the first time as a married couple.

The clapping had to be accompanied by whooping before they realized that the people watching weren't the only ones there. They looked up at the overhead where the congregation also sat, and saw Caroline, Stefan, Klaus and Jacob, one of Caroline's friends, clapping and cheering. Elena laughed happily and kissed Damon's cheek as he grinned up at everyone.

It was a new beginning.


End file.
